


The Breaking Point

by IskoWrites



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Gen, Guilt, Hurt No Comfort, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28975836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IskoWrites/pseuds/IskoWrites
Summary: Set in a world not too different from ours, Link and Zelda are reincarnated once again to fulfill their destiniy ordained by fate. Managing to take down Ganon, Zelda notices that something has been bothering Link, and sets off to figure it out.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	The Breaking Point

"Link. Link. Link?"

Link awoke with a start, shaking his head blearily as he was pulled away from the comfort of sleep. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of his apartment, and he noticed a small, lithe figure crouched next to him, her golden blonde hair somehow shining in the shadows.

"Huh? Oh, it's you, princess."

Zelda hit Link's head with a newspaper, "Stop calling me that, we're not kids anymore."

"If that's what you want, Lady Zelda," Link said, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

"You're an idiot."

"The feeling is mutual. Anyways," Link began as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "how did you get in here?"

"The door was unlocked. For someone who's cautious about my safety, he sure is careless."

"I live in a secure apartment. There's literally no need for it."

"It doesn't hurt to be cautious, Link."

"Shut it, princess."

She smacked his head again.

Link got up from his seat at the couch and walked towards the light switch, slicking it on and bathing the room in an amber glow. His apartment, while neat and tidy with not a single thing out of place, did not give any homely impressions. A coffee table sat in the center of the room, a solitary mug resting on top. His television was on, the news reel playing as a sharply dressed business woman spoke about the mundane, unimportant news in Hyrule's long lasting peace and prosperity. As if the past few months were already forgotten.

Stretching, Link ambled over to his kitchenette, taking out a pot and some cups. Moving slowly, he set them on the counter, careful not to aggravate his still healing wounds.

"Coffee?" Link asked, as he waited for the water to boil. He rummaged through his shelves while Zelda strolled through his apartment, eyeing the various knick knacks he'd collected over the years. An ornamental sword passed down from his grandfather, a small, golden triangle that was made out of something resembling steel, and, oddly enough, a green hat shaped like a traffic cone, hanging limp on his coat rack.

"You still have this thing?" Zelda asked with surprise, as she slipped the green hat onto her head, the tip of it falling forward. She turned to face Link as he poured water into the coffee cups, his eyes frustrated. "How do I look?" She asked, her wide grin just visible behind the green fabric.

Link looked up at her softly as he offered one of the steaming mugs in his hands. Zelda leaned over the counter to grab it, still wearing that stupid hat. "Like an idiot. A blonde idiot."

Zelda smiled at him as she flipped the top of the hat away from her face. Cradling his own coffee in his hands, Link took the quiet moment to gaze out across the world. Him and Zelda were standing in his kitchenette, a dappled marble countertop with an open view into his living room. To their left was a balcony, overlooking the city skyline and opening up to the brilliant sky, shining magnificently. The night was still young, and the glittering lights of Hyrule seemed to even outshine the cosmos itself.

A testament to its long and proud heritage of defying the whims of nature to advance their own ideals.

They stood in silence as the TV blared the news, the sharply dressed reporter still on screen.

"Say," Zelda started as she broke the silence, "you've seen the news?"

"I mean," Link replied, pointing at the screen. "I'm looking at it right now."

"Ha-Ha. Very funny," Zelda said as she stared into her half empty mug. "But seriously, have you seen it?"

Link looked down as he toyed with his cup, tracing the rim in slow, methodical motions. "I tend to avoid it nowadays."

"But why's that?” Zelda said, disbelieving. “We ruined Triforce Industries, they no longer have a hold on the government. Hyrule no longer has to deal with him, and we're finally in peace. Our people can _live_ without constantly looking over their shoulders anymore." Zelda left her cup on her side of the counter and took Link's hands in her own. They were rough and calloused, stained bandages peeking out from underneath his sleeves. "No more surveillance, no more cameras, freedom of speech for the first time in years." Zelda tightened her grip on his hands, Link's eyes still not meeting hers. "So why, why in the name of Hylia are you not happy?"

Link’s hands jerked in her own, and she continued gently, trying not to spook him. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Link. You’re getting more withdrawn, spending more time alone. We barely speak anymore.” Rubbing circles on his hands, brushing over his callouses, she spoke again, her voice barely a whisper. “So, tell me, Link, tell me what’s troubling you.” His eyes met hers, and Zelda almost recoiled in shock.

Link’s eyes, those ocean blue eyes, once so filled with hope, Zelda could see were now _empty_. Only a soulless, pale replica of what they once were remained. She could see nothing in those eyes, nothing but fatigue. She loosened her grip, but Link grasped her hands tighter.

After a long, tense moment, Link spoke.

"Was taking down Ganon the right thing to do?" His voice was so raw, so vulnerable, that it took Zelda a moment to comprehend his words.

"What," she said, phrasing it as more of a statement than a question.

“Did we do the right thing?”

"No, no, I heard you the first time," Zelda said, finally pulled her hands out of his. They fidgeted in the air between them, Zelda not understanding where Link was going with this.

"What do you mean? Of course we did the right thing!"

"Did we, Zelda?" he asked, slipping his now empty hands into his jacket pocket and bowing his head in despair. "Was he actually a bad person, or did we make a mistake?"

Zelda could scarcely believe what she was hearing. "Did - did you pay attention to a word that I said? Of _course_ we're the good guys, Link! We took down a tyrant, we stopped Ganon like we’ve always done!"

"But was it the right thing to do?” he asked again, his hands rising to rest in his golden curls. His eyes were almost manic, darting to and fro. Whatever caused this, it had been affecting Link for longer than Zelda had thought.

"Why in the hell wouldn't it be?" Zelda said loudly, beginning to get frustrated at his foolishness. "We are _clearly_ the good guys here. Like that was e-" she cut off as she saw Link shaking, his shoulders trembling as he hid his face in his palms. Zelda stepped back, stunned. In all their years together, not once had she seen him cry. Gently, she reached out to him, but stopped when he stepped back suddenly, his fists balled at his side.

Tears tracked down his face as he stared at her, his eyes blazing with the fire they lacked moments ago. “Life isn’t black and white, Zelda!” he shouted, his voice steely despite the tears. Straightening his back, he looked her in the eyes, ignoring his tears. “Life is made up of shades of gray, Zelda. There aren’t good guys, just varying levels of bad, and it doesn’t take much for us to be bad!”

"But that doesn't change the fact that we did the right thing." Zelda countered as her own anger began to rise, "Life may be a shade of gray, but we did the right thing and you _know_ it."

Link slammed his hands onto the countertop, startling Zelda. "Did we do the right thing, or did _you_?” The venom dripping from his tone made Zelda take a step back, almost tripping over herself. “How many lives were destroyed in our quest to stop him!? If we had just left him alone, how many people would still be alive!" he shouted, rawer and more helpless than Zelda had ever heard before. It did nothing to stave her own anger, though.

"Ganon did nothing for this world," she yelled back at him. "He overworked people, enslaved the population to work for him, ruined families and destroyed lives, all for his own insatiable greed." She jabbed her fingers into his face, "And you have the audacity, the sheer nerve to say that we should have left him alone?"

"Can you not see what he did for the people? That monster held no regard for human life, but he brought stability with him." Link flared as he kept his ground. "He kept the gangs and crime in check, he gave out jobs to whoever needed them, he fed his workers, he brought economic stability to this place." He stopped for a second to catch his breath, "And in the end, how many of his men did _I_ have to kill so we could stop him, Zelda! Was doing the right thing a good thing, this time?!"

"It doesn't matter if the right thing is a good thing, Link! What matters is that you did what you had to do! You’re the hero, Link!"

Link suddenly grabbed his mug and threw it against the wall, bits of ceramic flying everywhere. Zelda yelped as it made impact against the wall, and Link turned back at her, his cheeks flushed from rage. "I AM SICK AND TIRED OF BEING THE HERO!" he yelled at her. "I don't want to be the person Hyrule relies on for help." Link slumped to the ground, putting his hands in his face. Zelda walked around the counter, and stood beside Link's hunched body, intermittent sobs wracking his from. Her hands went forwards to comfort him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I ended so many lives, so many. How many of those people had families? People who loved them. They worked for him because they had no choice. Don't you see, Zelda?" He continued as he grabbed her shoulders, tears streaking his cheeks. "He gives us the illusion of a choice, because that's how you control a population, Zelda, by giving them the illusion of freedom."

"I don't want to be Hyrule's hero. Why do I have to carry the weight and expectations of the world on my shoulders? I'm not invincible, Zelda.” He looked up, sighing softly. “And so what if Triforce Industries is gone? Another will take their place, whether it would be the Lynels or the Yiga Clan. And I’ll be called, again, to fight, again, and again, and again." He looked up and stared at Zelda, who stared at him, at a loss for words. "It doesn't matter what I do Zelda, I can't keep doing this. I’ve had enough of saving Hyrule. I'm locked by fate in an endless battle of attrition, a battle that I can never truly win."

Zelda could only watch, the words on her tongue swallowed by the fever of his speech.

"Why try to save the world when it's doomed either way?"

"It's because I'm here, Link. I've always been by your side, since the beginning. Why can't you see that Link? Through everything, I've been by your side without fail. You don't have to walk this road by yourself Link, but you choose to do so. We're locked by fate together, so I will always be by your side." She stood up as Link sat in silence, staring into the wall.

"I'll never leave you, Link, but you're clearly not well right now. I'll - I’ll see myself out." She walked towards the door and she fumbled with the lock, her hands shaking and tears in her eyes. _’He should remember that he’s not the only one trapped in this endless cycle,'_ she thought to herself. _'He's being selfish right now.'_

' _No,_ ' she realised with a start. ' _I didn't have to slaughter countless people, I didn't do anything that affected me directly. All I did was sit in a planning room. Time and time again, he did whatever I asked without question. No doubts. Nothing._ ' She stopped fiddling with the doorknob suddenly, a sharp thought dawning in her mind. __

_'I made him do everything.'_

Suddenly her jacket was being tugged from behind as Link stood behind her. She stood still as Link put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Zelda. You're right. You've always been by my side, no matter what, and I never appreciated your help."

She said nothing as he took her by her shoulders and stared into her eyes. Yet this time, there was no despair in those eyes, only sorrow.

"I'm sorry."

Zelda said nothing.

With a sigh, he let go of her and opened the door for her. As she stood in the doorframe, composing herself, Link spoke again.

"If it's fine, can you stay the night?" Zelda glanced back at him, watching his downcast eyes stare at the doormat. His shoulders were hunched and his head was down, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her eyes.

' _I owe him this much, right?_ ' Zelda thought to herself. As the silence stretched onwards for what seemed like hours.

Suddenly, the illusion was shattered.

“I’ll see you later, Link. Have a good night.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this little one-shot I made! I thought of this modern day LoZ concept before going to bed, so please excuse me if the flow and such feels all over the place. If it won't inconveniece you, some constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Once again, thanks for reading!


End file.
